Rotating beacon lantern



9. 1966 s. s. LEOTTA 3,266,014

ROTATING BEACON LANTERN Filed Jan. 21, 1964 4 Sheets-Sheet l I N VENTOR.55 M JAM/E4 -s. ziarm Aug. 9, 1966 s. s. LEOTTA ROTATING BEACON LANTERN4 Sheets-$heet 2 Filed Jan. 21. 1964 FIG. 4

INVENTOR. JAHUEL .5. Afar-m A I'TOlP/VE) Aug. 9, 1966 s. s. LEOTTAROTATING BEACON LANTERN Filed Jan. 21, 1964 I 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 I NVENTOR. SAMUEL .7. 1507-77! ATTORNEY Aug. 9, 1966 s. s. LEOTTA 3,266,014

ROTATING BEACON LANTERN Filed Jan. 21, 1964 4 Sheets$heet 4 44 INVENTOR.

SAMUEL 6. (077?! ATTORNEY United States Patent ware Filed Jan. 21, 1964,Ser. No. 339,128 10 Claims. (Cl. $40-$13) This invention relates toattention-attracting warning lights suitable for both stationary andmobile applications, and, more particularly, to a rotating beaconlantern of novel and improved type.

It is an object of the present invention to improve warning lights andlanterns of the described character.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a novel andimproved rotating beacon lantern in which a stationary light beam isconverted into a rotating beam by imparting rotation to a suitableoptical reflecting element, such as a mirror.

A further object of the invention is to provide a rotating beaconlantern in which the light source in the form of an incandescent bulb isnot rotated and thus does not require slip rings or similar means formaintaining an electrical circuit between its stationary and itsrotatable elements.

It is also within contemplation of the invention to provide an improvedlantern suitable of producing either or both a rotating beam warningsignal and a stationary spotlight of high intensity.

The invention also contemplates a rotating beacon lantern which issimple in construction, reliable in operation and which may be readilymanufactured on a quantity production scale at a low cost.

Other and further objects and advantages of the present invention willbecome apparent from the following description, taken in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective side view of a lantern embodying the invention;

' FIG. 2 is a perspective rear view of the lantern shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a schematic representation of the electric circuit of thelantern of the invention;

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view illustrating the structure andthe cooperation of the rotating beacon producing elements of thelantern;

FIG. 5 is a vertical section taken on line 55 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a horizontal section taken on line 6-6 of FIG. 5; and

FIG. 7 is a horizontal section taken on line 7-7 of FIG. 5.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, numeral 10 denotes arear housing and 12 a [forward housing, made of a suitable plastic andjointedly connected to each other by means of a hinge 14. The rearhousing comprises a hollow handle 16 adapted to accommodate a pair ofsuperposed primary cells 18 and 2i) in its interior and to constitute acorrugated pistol grip 22 at its exterior whereby the lantern may besecurely grasped and conveniently aimed by an operator. The rear housingis integrally formed with a curved, inclined wall 24, the lower end ofwhich constitutes a pair of feet 26 cooperating with a suction cup 28secured in the bottom of handle 16 by means of a screw 30 for supportingthe lantern. Additional strength and rigidity is imparted to the rearhousing by means of a metal plate 32, one end of which is secured to thelower portion of rear housing 12 and the other end of which is clampedbetween the lower end of handle 16 and suction cup 28 by means of screw30. A length of spring steel wire 34 extends downwardly in the interiorof handle 16.

The lower end of the said wire is wound into a coil spring 36, applyingresilient axial pressure on cells 18 and 20, while its upper end is bentaround a boss 38 and forms a loop adapted to be engaged by the inneredge of a contact spring 92 thereby to connect the bottom terminal ofthe serially connected cells to an electric circuit. Integrally formedribs or webs 42 extend radially into the interior of handle 16 andassure accurate centering of the cells, as this will be best observed inFIG. 7.

The forward housing generally denoted by numeral 12 comprises side walls44, a top wall 46 and a bottom wall 48. These walls reverse theirdirections at their front ends and have reentrant portions 50, 52 and54, respectively, which define a rectangular frame 56. In this frame isheld an apertured spotlight supporting frame 58 to which is securedreflector 60 and bulb holder 62, the said frame having small, circularapertures 64 into which extend studs 66 integrally formed with reentrantside walls 50. An integrally formed tongue 68 extends rearwardly fromframe 58 through an aperture 70, one side of which is provided withthree protuberances 72 against which the edge of tongue 68 may abut.'Thus, the frame 58 may be adjusted into any one of three differentpositions, causing corresponding adjustment of the direction of thespotlight emitted by the reflector.

The structure of the beacon subassembly will be best observed in FIG. 4.It is built around a horizontal bearing plate 76 made of a suitableopaque plastic and comprises a central bearing 78 held by threeuniformly spaced radially extending arms 80, which define threesegmentary apertures 82 therebetween. In addition to carrying the lowerbearing 78 for the mirror holder to be described later, it alsoconstitutes a supporting base on which the electrical, mechanical andoptical elements producing the rotating beacon are located. Theseelements include (FIG. 6) a beacon reflector and bulb assembly 84, asingle-pole double-throw slide switch 86, a double-pole double-throwslide switch 88, and a third primary cell 91 having its end terminalsheld between the inner legs of a pair of U-shaped contact springs 92 and94, lateral displacement of the said cell being prevented by the twocurved arms of a mounting spring 96 having no electrical function. Onthe outer leg of contact spring 94 is mounted one end of a flat leafspring 98 to the other end of which is secured a small electric motor100 having its serrated shaft 1il2 extending through one of the openings104 in the bearing plate. Bearing plate also has a downwardly extendinginverted U-shaped leaf spring 105 secured thereto by an eyelet 106, oneleg 107 of which spring is bent horizontally and resiliently engages thetop center contact of cell 21?, while its other leg is bent into anelbow 108 extending outwardly through slot 110 of the rear housing andconstitutes a spring catch for holding the hingedly connected forwardand rear housings together.

A generally square-shaped beacon cover 112 is secured to the bearingplate by suitable fastening elements, such as a screw 114 passingthrough aligned openings in the said cover and plate into a threadedhole in spring 105. In case the rotating beacon lantern is intended tooperate as an optical warning signal, the beacon cover is preferablymade of red transparent plastic material. In bearing 78 'of bearingplate 76 is seated lower stud 118 of a mirror holder disc 120 made of atransparent plastic material, which may be clear or of the same color asthe beacon cover. Disc 120 has integrally formed upwardly extendingtriangular supports 122 connected by an inclined wall 124 from whichprotrudes upper stud 126, rotatably held in bearing 128 in the topcenter of the beacon cover. A groove 130 is provided in each oftriangular supports 122, and a plane mirror 132 being slipped into thesaid grooves so that the reflecting face are rotated around a verticalaxis, the serrated shaft 102 of the motor and the elastic ring 136constituting a simple, efiicient and substantially noiseless speedreducing gear.

The beacon subassembly is secured to the forward housing 12 by placingthe forward edge portion of beacon cover 112 over a U-shaped frameportion 73 on top of the said housing and rearwardly displacing thesubassembly, thereby hooking stud 74 integrally formed with the housinginto a corresponding depression in the beacon cover. Apertures 115 inthe beacon cover and the frame portion of the housing are now alignedwith each other and the said elements are fastened together by means ofshoulder screws 116 extending through said apertures into nuts 117.Screws 116 also serve for pivotably holding the two ends of a U-shapedcarrying handle 138 for the lantern. In its inoperative condition shownin the drawings, the said handle surrounds the lower portion of beaconcover 112 and can be raised into operative position whenever it isdesired to use the same.

FIG. 3 illustrates the electrical circuit of the lantern. Cells 20, 18are connected in series with each other and also with cell 90 through aconductor 140. The positive terminal of cell 90 is connected to oneterminal of motor 100 and also to one terminal of spotlight bulb 63through a conductor 142.. The other terminal of the said bulb isconnected to arm 87 of single-pole double-throw switch 86, having aworking contact 87a and a rest contact 87b. Working contact 87a isconnected to the negative terminal of cell through a conductor 144.Double-pole doublethrow switch 88 is provided with two arms of which arm89 has a working contact 89:: and a rest contact 89b, while arm 91 has aworking contact 91a and a rest contact 911;. Working contact 91a ofswitch 88 is connected to the negative terminal of cell 20 through aconductor 146 and arm 91 of the said switch is connected to one terminalof beacon reflector bulb 85 through a conductor 148. The other terminalof bulb 85 and of motor 100 are connected to each other through aconductor 150 and to switch arm 89 through conductor 152. Workingcontact 89a is connected to conductor 140 by another conductor 154.

From the foregoing description, operation of, the lantern of theinvention will be readily understood by those skilled in the art.

Considering first operation of the electrical circuit just described inconnection with FIG. 3, it will be noted that switch 86 controls thecircuit of spotlight bulb 63. When it is desired to operate the saidbulb, arm 87 of switch 86 is placed over working contact 87a. This willestablish a closed circuit from the upper terminal of bulb 63, switcharm 87, contact 870, conductor 144, cells 20 and 18, conductor 140, cell90 and conductor 142 back to the lower terminal of bulb 63. Thus, thesaid bulb will be energized from all three cells, 20, 18 and 90,connected in series.

When, on the other hand, it is desired to operate the rotating bacon,double-pole switch 88 is displaced into its operating position whereinarm 89 engages contact 89a and arm 91 engages contact 91a. a closedcircuit both for beacon bulb 85 and motor 100. The beacon bulb circuitcomprises conductors 140 and 154 leading from the positive terminal ofcell 18 to contact 89a, arm 89, conductors 152 and 150, bulb 85,conductor 148, arm 91, contact 91a and through conductor 146 back to thenegative terminal of cell 20. The motor circuit, starting out from thepositive terminal of cell 90, comprises conductor 142, motor 100,conductor 152, switch arm 89, contact 8%, conductor 154, and

This will establish 4 back to the negative terminal of cell 90. Thus,beacon bulb will be energized from the two serially connected cells 18and 28, whereas motor will be energized from the single cell 90.

As switches 86 and 88 are independent from each other, it is possible toselectively operate either the spotlight or the beacon light, or bothlights at the same time. In some cases, where it is desired to operatethe lantern on or in proximity to a motor vehicle for long periods oftime, it is advantageous to derive the operating current from thestorage battery of the vehicle, a connector receptacle for this purposebeing shown at 156 in FIG. 6. Of course, suitable dropping resistorshave to be incorporated in the connecting cord (not shown), in order toreduce the voltage of the storage battery to the desired values requiredin different parts of the circuit.

Operation of the rotating beacon considered from its mechanical andoptical aspects will be best understood by reference to FIG. 4 of thedrawing. Light emitted by beacon bulb 85 is converted into asubstantially parallel beam of light by means of reflector 84. This beamof light will pass through segmentary openings 82 of hearing plate 76and also through transparent mirror holder disc which has its bearingstuds 118 and 126 rotatably supported in bearing 78 in the bearing plate76 and in bearing 128 in the beacon cover 112, respectively. The

beam of light emitted by the reflector-bulb combination 84, 85 will bereflected into a substantially horizontal beam by means of mirror 132mounted at an angle of 45 on the mirror holder disc 120. Thus when themirror holder disc 120 is rotated by resilient engagement of itscircumferential rubber ring 136 with the serrated shaft 102 of motor100, the horizontal beam will be likewise caused to rotate. As this beamupon passing through transparent red beacon cover 112 will be imparted ared color, it will constitute a very effective danger signal in alldirections from the lantern.

When it is desired to carry the lantern, carrying handle 138 is raisedfrom its normal horizontal position into a substantially verticalposition. As an alternative, the lantern may be carried about bygrasping the non-slip, pistol grip aiming handle 16. While holding thesaid handle with four fingers of one hand, one or both of slide switches86, 88 can be readily actuated by the thumb of the same hand. Instead ofcarrying the lantern, it can be deposited on the ground or on any othersuitable surface, in which case it will rest on suction cup 28 and legs26. Suction cup 28 can be utilized for firmly attaching the lantern toany smooth surface, such as the roof of a motor vehicle. Direction ofthe splotlight beam can be adjusted by moving the end of tongue 68protruding through slot 70 into one of the several positions determinedby notches or protuberances 72 at one side of said slot.

To replace batteries or bulbs, carrying handle 138 is raised and catch108 below switch panel is depressed to swing the lantern housing openaround hinge 1.4 connecting forward housing 12 with rear housing 10.This makes the interior of the lantern readily and convenientlyaccessible for servicing.

Although the present invention has been disclosed in connection with apreferred embodiment thereof, varia tions and modifications may be'resorted ,to by those skilled in the art without departing from theprinciples of the invention. All of these variations and modificationsare considered to be within the true spirit and scope of the presentinvention, as disclosed in the foregoing description and defined by theappended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A rotating beacon lantern comprising a bearing plate having a bearingtherein surrounded by openings, a source of light below said openingsand passing a beam of light therethrough, a transparent disc rotatablysupported in said bearing in closely parallel-spaced position withrespect to said bearing plate, a mirror mounted on said disc by supportsintegrally formed therewith and being adapted to reflect said beam, andmeans for rotating said disc with the mirror thereon thereby convertingthe stationary beam of said source into a rotating beam, saidtransparent disc and said mirror supports constituting a single rigidunit of substantial strength.

2. A rotating beacon lantern comprising a bearing plate of opaquematerial having a bearing surrounded by a plurality of segmentaryopenings integrally formed therein, a light source comprising anelectric bulb and a reflector below said openings of the plate andpassing a beam of light therethrough, a transparent disc mounted forrotation in said bearing above said plate in close parallelism withrespect to the plate, a mirror mounted on said disc by supportsintegrally formed with said transparent disc and being adapted toreflect said beam, and means including a motor-driven shaft engaging thecircumference of said disc to rotate it with the mirror thereon therebyconverting the stationary beam of said source into a rotating beam, saidtransparent disc and supports constituting a single rigid unit ofsubstantial strength.

3. A rotating beacon lantern comprising a bearing plate of opaquematerial having a spider integrally formed therein defining a centralbearing surrounded by a plurality of segmentary openings, an electricbulb and a reflector below and passing a beam of light through saidopenings, a transparent disc mounted for rotation in said bearing abovesaid plate in close parallelism with respect to the plate and having aring of elastic material around its circumference, a mirror mounted onsaid disc by supports integrally formed with the disc and being adaptedto reflect said beam, a motor having a serrated shaft, and resilientmeans urging said shaft into contact with said elastic ring thereby torotate said disc with the mirror thereon and converting the stationarybeam of the bulb and reflector into a rotating beam, said transparentdisc and supports constituting a single rigid unit of substantialstrength.

4. A rotating beacon lantern comprising a bearing plate having a spiderintegrally formed therein defining a lower bearing surrounded by aplurality of segmentary openings, a reflector below and passing a beamof light through said openings, a transparent disc having acircumferential groove mounted for rotation in said lower bearing aboveand in close parallelism with respect to said plate, a ring of elasticmaterial in said groove, a mirror holder integrally formed with saidtransparent disc and having a stud upwardly extending therefrom, amirror in said holder adapted to reflect said beam, a stationarytransparent beacon cover for said disc and mirror holder and having anupper bearing therein rotatably receiving said stud, a motor having aserrated shaft, and resilient means urging said shaft into contact withsaid elastic ring thereby to rotate said disc and the mirror thereon andconverting the stationary beam of the reflector into a rotating beam,said transparent disc and mirror holder constituting a single rigid unitof substantial strength.

5. A rotating beacon lantern comprising a lower bearing, a transparentdisc having a stud downwardly extending into said bearing, a mirrorholder integrally formed with said disc and having a mirror therein, atransparent beacon cover over said disc and mirror holder and having anupper bearing therein, an upwardly extending stud on said mirror holderrotatably received in said upper bearing, means for passing a stationarybeam of light through said disc to be reflected by said mirror, andmeans for rotating said disc with the mirror thereon for converting saidstationary beam into a rotating beam emerging through said beacon coverand constituting a warning signal, said transparent disc and mirrorholder constituting a single rigid unit of substantial strength.

6. A rotating beacon lantern as claimed in claim 5, in which the beaconcover is made of transparent red plastic material.

7. A rotating beacon lantern comprising a forward housing and a rearhousing hingedly connected with each other, said forward housing havingtherein a beacon reflector adapted to emit a beam of light substantiallyin the vertical direction; means including a rotatable transparent discintegrally formed with a mirror holder having a mirror thereinsuperposed on said beacon reflector for changing direction of the beamof light emitted thereby, said transparent disc and mirror holderconstituting a single rigid unit of substantial strength, electricdriving means for rotating said disc and mirror and the reflected beam,switching means for setting up an energizing circuit for said reflectorand driving means, and a beacon cover of transparent plastic materialfor said disc and mirror assembly; said rear housing comprising agenerally tubular portion accommodating a source of current in itsinterior and constituting a pistol grip handle on its exterior.

8. A rotating beacon lantern comprising a forward housing and a rearhousing hingedly connected with each other; said forward housing havingtherein a spotlight reflector adapted to emit a beam of lightsubstantially in the horizontal direction and a beacon reflector adaptedto emit a beam of light substantially in the vertical direction; meansincluding a rotatable transparent mirror holder disc integrally formedwith a mirror holder having a mirror therein superposed on said beaconreflector for changing direction of the beam of light emitted thereby,said transparent disc and mirror holder constituting a single rigid unitof substantial strength, electric driving means for rotating said discand the emitted beam of light, and switching means for selectivelyenergizing said spotlight and said beacon reflector with the drivingmeans of said disc; said rear housing comprising a hollow pistol griphandle accommodating a source of current in its interior.

'9. A rotating beacon lantern as claimed in claim 8, in which a beaconcover of transparent red plastic material is superposed on themirror-disc assembly for imparting a red color to the rotating beampassing therethrough.

10. A rotating beacon lantern as claimed in claim 8-, in which thehingedly connected forward and rear housings may be swung away from eachother to make the interior of the lantern accessible for servicing.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,748,371 5/ 1956Wilcox et a1 340-50 X 2,846,675 8/1958 Crossley 340-321 X 2,913,572 11/1959 Fritzlen 240-10.1 3,142,052 7/ 1964 Tambert 340321 NEIL C. READ,Primary Examiner.

I. I. LEVIN, Assistant Examiner.

1. A ROTATING BEACON LANTERN COMPRISING A BEARING PLATE HAVING A BEARINGTHEREIN SURROUNDED BY OPENINGS, A SOURCE OF LIGHT BELOW SAID OPENINGSAND PASSING A BEAM OF LIGHT THERETHROUGH, A TRANSPARENT DISC ROTATABLYSUPPORTED IN SAID BEARING IN CLOSELY PARALLEL-SPACED PSOITION WITHRESPECT TO SAID BEARING PLATE, A MIRROR MOUNTED ON SAID DISC BY SUPPORTSINTEGRALLY FORMED THEREWITH AND BEING ADAPTED TO REFLECT SAID BEAM, ANDMEANS FOR ROTATING SAID DISC WITH THE MIRROR THEREON THEREBY CONVERTINGTHE STATIONARY BEAM OF SAID SOURCE INTO A ROTATING BEAM, SAIDTRANSPARENT BEAM AND SAID MIRROR SUPPORTS CONSTITUTING A SINGLE RIGIDUNIT OF SUBSTANTIAL STRENGTH.